Mama Boucher is Playing Mindgames

Well, it has been a busy week in Tracer land! Running is a priority in my life and shifting the run to early morning ensures that it fits in and no training days are lost. Afton Trail Run is 16 days away!

Monday- 520 am: 5.3 miles with Ahsoka. She was so happy to be running, it made my run happy.

We ran across 4 other runners that morning… a rarity in my tiny town population 1,104. I’ve only ever seen one, maybe two runners on a run through town before this day. Two women ran together, I knew them from Bootcamp class and having kids our children’s class at school. A man running alone appeared to be in his 70’s… but he was cruising! The other woman (age around 50?) I saw was 80’s glammed up with curled, ratted bangs, high pony tail, makeup, earrings, bright cotton shirt, biking shorts, and bright shoes. Despite her jazzercise appearance, she looked really healthy and positive. She smiled and said, “Cute dog.” Ahsoka didn’t growl at any of the runners, it’s like she knows they are naturally OSOM!

Tuesday- It was pouring when I got up at 5am. So, I had a cup of coffee and checked the weather…. It wouldn’t clear up until later in the morning, so I packed my gear for a lunch run. I didn’t get to take my hour lunch break until 2pm, so by the time I got to the nature center, it was 82 degrees. It was great running through the lower elevations of the park—cool, shady, peaks of sun poking through the leaves. But the open prairie areas (also the highest elevations of the park) wereSuffer Zones of no shade, waves of heat, and a strong wind. I struggled but pushed through and ran a solid 4.2 miles of trails. I was a schweatty, thirsty mess when I was done.

Wednesday- 62 degrees at 515am. Went out for 4.5 miles with the dog. We ran 3.3 miles and at that point had a sudden IT flare up. It felt the same as the one that halted my running last fall, so I walked home and ROLLED. I haven’t had an intense flare-up like that since April because I am very consistent with rolling and stretching 3 times a day. I rolled 5 times Wed hoping and praying it would be the trick…

Thursday- Temp= 74, Dewpoint= 62 at 530am. I took Ahsoka out for an easy 4 miler, starting very slow. The IT seemed okay, but I felt the TinMan… I tried to relax, I tried to loosen up, but I felt stiff and robotic. I wanted to blame the humidity, but I think it was just my muscles. It is 90 degrees out there right now, SO not regretting my decision to hit the road in the morning!

Tomorrow is a running day off in anticipation of my long trail run on Saturday. It is predicted to be high 80s, humid, and stormy… so it’ll be a true test of my fitness to run 14 trail miles in a mosquito-infested forest. I’ll be sure to hydrate well and go slow.

Despite the heat, the IT, and constraints on time, running is going well. The thing I am really struggling with is my HEAD. With a race a little more than 2 weeks out, my head is starting to play mind games on me… negative self-talk is the big one. It wears me down some days to the point I almost convince myself to give up. I think of WaterBoy- Bobby Bouscher’s mom- Helen "Mama" Boucher (played by Kathy Bates), saying “It’s the Devil!” Could be? But I think it is my old self (the pre-running Tracer) and old way of thinking that creeps in once in a while. She’s a lazy girl with no courage. I have to keep reminding myself that I am not that person any more. I have overcome obesity, prediabetes, and hypertension… by running. I have gained confidence, strength, and hope… by running. I have healed many layers of pain & trauma from my past… by running. I have set and achieved goals, set them higher and achieved them… by running.

Every step is important for me… whether it be an early morning Speet, a spiritual moment on a trail, an 80s flashback, or a stiff Mr- Roboto-wishin’-I-were- Gumby run… I run to become who I am meant to be, not to revert to the old me.

Wow- got all philosophical on the Loop… I guess that is just as important as reporting the mileage~speed~pace~numbers that Meester Garmeeno spits out.

16 days til Afton… My mind, body and spirit will all be in the right place.

When I get out and run sometimes I get those mind games too. I'll think of a different person for every mile I run. Sometimes it's family sometimes kids or grandkids. Sometimes it's loopsters and wondering what they are doing or remembering some of the great smiles that I have seen so many loopsters with. That pretty much will get me to that next mile every time!!!

Sometimes you've just got to think it through. If you let mind wander over to the awesome side of you, it will be impossible to doubt. I'm sure Afton is going to be tough, but you are tougher--way tougher.

Do you also use the foam roller on your glutes? That might help the IT Band too. I read that somewhere that when the hips and glutes are tight or fatigued that the IT Band has to "work", which also tighten up and cause pain. So strengthen those hips and glutes and foam roll those glutes too! We all have our moments of self doubt, but I know you'll pull through - because you're a runner, and you have lots of friends cheering you on!

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